Teenage weightlifter Lalrinnunga eyes podium finish

New Delhi, May 22

India’s teenage weightlifter Jeremy Lalrinnunga has bright chances of a podium finish in men’s 67 kg group in the Junior World Championships which start on Sunday in Tashkent.

As per the entry list of International Weightlifting Federation (IWF), the 18-year-old 2018 Youth Olympic Champion from Aizawl is ranked second in 67 kg category.

Turkish weightlifter Muhammed Furkan Ozbek is ranked No. 1 while Yusuf Fehmi Genc, another Turk, is third in a field of 14 weightlifters.

The ranking is based on recent performance of competitors.

Achinta Sheuli, 19, from Maharashtra, the second weightlifter in the Indian team, will compete in men’s 73 kg. However, Sheuli is ranked low in the group that has attracted more than 20 entries.

Since global competition in Tashkent offers valuable ranking points, India’s Lalrinnunga could improve his world ranking to stay in race to win a Tokyo Olympic Games berth.

In the Asian Weightlifting Championships held last month in Tashkent, Lalrinnunga had finished eighth in 67 kg with a total lift of 302 kg. He lifted 139 kg in snatch and 163 kg in clean and jerk. PTI

Sheuli finished seventh in the continental competition. His total lift was 309 kg, a personal best. He lifted 139 kg in snatch and 170 kg in clean and jerk.

–IANS